by Leonard J Sherrott

Created on: March 15, 2009   Last Updated: March 16, 2009

Chess is one of the oldest board games in the world, unique in the fact it has been elevated to international competition at a professional level . Apart from checkers and backgammon, no other board game can be played and won purely through the use of skill. On a personal level it may be considered a waste of time for some, but to suggest that chess scorns intelligence is to deny the strategic genius of countless historical figures.

On a real battlefield men and machines are manipulated to achieve a position from which victory can be secured. It is emulated on the chessboard where pieces on both sides are methodically deployed in an attempt to achieve the same goal.

Key pieces are removed as deemed necessary in order to trap and bring about the surrender of the king. Strategies are employed and countered. Sacrifice is met with sacrifice until finally, a stalemate ensues or one of the combatants gains the upper hand leaving his opponent in damage control.

Resisting imminent defeat, the latter vainly seeks to strengthen his position hoping that his nemesis will make a mistake and re-ignite the battle. The almost vanquished opponent begins to maneuver his pieces defensively, inciting attack. His one saving grace will be to transform one or more of the pawns into a queen, knight, rook or bishop of the players choice by advancing at least one of them to the far end of the board. The role of the dominant player then will be to prevent such advancement while attempting to close out the game.
There are thousands of board games on the market which can test your mettle. Any game of strategy has to be considered a part of the learning process. None can achieve it in quite the same manner as chess. A successful move is a vote of self confidence in a battle of minds. The only way to fail is to be inattentive to the motives of the opposition. One may guess where a piece is going to be placed, but without understanding why encourages certain defeat.

In reality, we play our own brand of chess every day. We position ourselves in the education system for the best result while competing against others (albeit passively) for the same employment position. We invest in concepts anticipating the best potential outcomes. The world is a big chess board where innovation and stategy are sure winners. Putting our wits to the test in a virtual situation such as chess can only have positive consequences in our real lives.

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